CHAPTER 16: For the love of Appa

"When the faith is strong, it is sufficient just to be."

Outside in the meditation garden, as the golden rays of the sun were piercing through the veil of darkness, chasing away the remnants of the night, the sounds of nature had begun to stir as the songs of the birds filled the air with a symphony of melodies.

Several members of the small group of friends that were camping around a bonfire were beginning to move around in their sleeping bags, as a gentle breeze rustled through the trees like whispers of the leaves.

The air was cool and crisp, carrying with it the faint scent of dew-kissed grass and blooming flowers.

Zuko soon made his way out of his sleeping back, and with a flick of his wrist, a small flame ignited at his fingertips, casting a warm orange flickering glow upon the ground beneath him.

He directed the flame towards the kindling, and he watched as the fire eagerly consumed the dry wood in the fire pit, crackling happily in the morning sun.

Sokka yawned loudly on the other side of the fire, earning an unhappy grunt to sound out from Toph's sleeping bag.

Zuko felt warm as he watched Katara too make her way out of her sleeping bag next to him, before she drew out some fresh water from the pond on the other side of the garden and directed it elegantly into a kettle with fresh herbs and flowers.

He warmed up the tea as he smiled to himself.

They were the perfect match.

As the couple sat there sipping tea from each of their steaming cups, he felt at peace. A new day awaited.

He liked it here at the Air Temple.

He knew that his uncle had everything under control back in the Fire Nation, and that right now, his most important task was to attain an outline as to how to help Aang with resource allocation, so he would have all the materials such as stone, wood and skilled laborers needed to rebuild the temples.

As his thoughts drifted, he wondered how Aang was doing back in the room with the healer girl.

As he had come to understand it, Nii used some rather unconventional healing methods. However, that was all Katara had shared with him. When he had asked her for details, she had just shrugged her shoulders at him.

Last night before they had gone to sleep, he had heard some strange noises coming from their room. Deep breaths and a weird humming sound had crawled outside from within the temple, but he had been too tired to pay enough attention to it, and he had quickly fallen asleep.

As Zuko let his gaze travel to the temple archway, he widened his eyes in surprise, as he saw both Aang and Nii rounding the archway, making their way towards them.

They both had a weird look on their face, and the distance between them seemed strange to him, but he was too happy to see his friend seemingly well again to really care.

"Aang!" he yelled, causing Katara next to him to gasp out.

"Aang!" she breathed in relief, a wide smile spreading across her face, and Zuko watched her as she quickly got up on her feet and ran towards him, before throwing herself at him.

Zuko smiled as he saw Aang welcome her in a friendly embrace, closing his eyes as he put his arms around her.

"Hey you," Zuko heard him smile behind Katara's dark hair that flowed across his face.

"Oh, how are you? Are you okay?" Katara asked with concerned eyes when she had let him go, reaching her hand up to cup his face.

Zuko poured two cups of tea for Aang and Nii, as they soon joined the rest of the group around the fire.

"I'm good," Aang smiled, as he gladly accepted the warm cup of tea that Zuko offered him. "A bit sore, but… Overall, pretty good."

Zuko noticed the unfamiliar look Aang sent Nii as the Airbender was blowing softly across the surface of the tea, causing the steam to dance and swirl.

Nii looked down on the cup of tea in her hands, before she also took a sip.

Was that a blush he saw on her cheeks?

Zuko raised an eyebrow.

Something was going on between them. He did not know what, but there was a certain spark in Aang's eyes that he had not seen before.

As they all sat down, a smirk curled the corner of Zuko's lips.

"Buddy!" Sokka suddenly exclaimed from his sleeping bag. "You're back! How are you? What happened?"

And while Aang explained what he had experienced when coming to the Air Temple and in the Spirit World, Zuko paid him attention, but he kept his eyes on Nii.

He noticed the soft, affectionate smiles that played upon her lips once in a while, while Aang spoke. He also observed a certain tenderness and warmth glowing from her eyes, when she turned her face to look at him.

Although no one else seemed to notice, it was clear to Zuko that there was some sort of dynamic going on between them.

He just could not really put his finger on it.

As Aang was finishing his story of how he had been followed back from the Spirit World by Nii, Zuko let his eyes travel over her and he saw a red mark on her wrist.

"What happened there?" he asked, pointing to her arm.

Nii looked down at her wrist before she quickly covered it with her hand.

"Oh, it's nothing." she said, brushing it off. "He just kinda went full Avatar on me."

"Wow," Sokka exclaimed with wide eyes as if impressed. "You're lucky he didn't break your arm."

Katara slapped her brother on his shoulder, earning him to chuckle.

"What?" Aang breathed as he turned his face to look at Nii, his eyes full of concern. "I hurt you?"

Aang reached out to grab her arm, but Nii pulled it back.

"No, it's nothing, Aang. Don't worry, I'm totally fine."

An angry roar suddenly blasted from Toph's sleeping bag, causing everyone to look in her direction.

"Urgh!" she yelled out. "For the love of Appa and everything sacred around here, would you guys SHUT UP!"

Toph sat up while still in her sleeping bag, and it was obvious from the dark circles beneath her eyes that she had had a rough night.

"But Toph, it's morning," Sokka tried.

"I DON'T CARE!" she growled at him, causing him to scoot away from her in safety.

"I didn't get an OUNCE of sleep last night because of THAT girl's horrible noise!"

Toph pointed in Nii's direction, and Nii widened her eyes in confusion.

"Me?" she asked in a small frightened voice.

"Me?!" Toph mimicked her with a baby voice, her brows furrowed in anger. "YES, YOU! Singing your fuddy-duddy words, dancing and smashing your feet into the poor ground like a freaking MOUNTAIN TROLL! ALL FREAKING NIGHT!"

Toph smashed her tightened fist hard into the ground, earning a boulder to rise and push her up on her feet.

"It's good to have you back Aang," Toph hissed in a slightly less angry voice, "But DAMN! I'm off to get some sleep! Later!"

And as if in a trust fall, Toph then leaned back and disappeared into the ground below her as if diving into water, leaving the group of friends completely dumbstruck.